


Truth for Freed Justine

by Anxious_Procrastinating



Series: Truth for Freed Justine series [1]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-15
Updated: 2016-07-15
Packaged: 2018-07-24 05:46:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7496187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anxious_Procrastinating/pseuds/Anxious_Procrastinating
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Freed is kidnapped on a mission and is tortured and killed to protect Laxus</p>
            </blockquote>





	Truth for Freed Justine

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hi everyone!:) I was rather depressed today for no good reason and this came out. I hope you like it!
> 
> (Posted on FF.net on 9/06/2016)

The corpse lay there, unmoving, on the bare, cold, metallic table. A white, folded sheet covered it to the waist.

Laxus stared at it frozen. Bickslow's sobs and Evergreen's wails and screams were just a distant noise, barely registered by his ears. The sounds came to him muffled, as every fiber of his being was solely focused on that dead body in front of him.

Freed was always composed and dignified, even in death, he darkly noted.

The last time he'd seen his best friend had been two months earlier.

The Raijinshuu and he had gone on an S-class mission. They had to take down some demonic creatures that haunted a whole island. He imagined that it wouldn't be too hard. As they arrived, they split, deciding that each of them would take care of a section of the island. After they were done, they had to come back to the meeting point they'd set. The monsters had proven to be pretty easy to defeat, even for Bickslow and Evergreen who weren't S-class. Freed though, even after hours they'd come back, still hadn't shown up. His delay had started to worry his friends, who decided to seek for him. The more time passed, the more the research was proving itself fruitless and they started to be scared sick for their friend's wellbeing. Their calls of his name got an edge of hysteria as they had basically searched in every single nook of the place and hadn't found him. What worried them the most, was that Laxus couldn't even pick up his scent anymore. They concluded that someone had abducted him, so they reluctantly came back home and told the guild, which organized research parties to look for the rune mage.

Little did they know that during the fight, Freed had met the members of a dark guild, finding out that they were behind the creation of those demonic creatures. As he fought to defend himself, he was outnumbered and overpowered and consequently kidnapped by the enemies. He soon found out that they were old allies of Raven Tail who wanted to capture Laxus and kill him to avenge the honor of Master Ivan's guild.

"Tell us where Laxus Dreyar is and we won't hurt you" they had threatened.

"Like hell I'll tell you" he spat out coldly. He didn't care if he was bound and restrained, unable to use his magic or defend himself. He would protect the man he loved no matter what.

"Oh, is that so?" his captor had smiled wickedly. We'll see if after we're done with you you'll be this cocky.

Electricity crackled from his hands. Freed watched, trying not to look afraid or sad. The lightning with which Laxus had sworn to always protect him and that he loved so much was now going to hurt him. And he still didn't know how excruciating the pain was going to be.

Two months later Gajeel and Levy had found his lifeless body in the outskirts of a town not very far from the island where he'd been abducted. They discovered where the culprits hid and beat the living hell out of them. Then they brought Freed to the guild and Makarov had called his grandson and his team.

"Laxus"

"Gramps, what's wrong?" he asked, upon seeing the old man's serious face.

"Are Evergreen and Bickslow with you?"

Laxus gestured for his friends to come closer and nodded as they came into view.

"We've found Freed" he said serious.

Bickslow and his babies cheered, but Laxus and Evergreen knew better.

"Why this face, Gramps?"

"He was abducted by some members of a guild allied with Raven Tail"

Laxus could already feel rage build inside him.

"They tortured him to extort information about you"

Lightning crackled on his skin as guilt slowly mixed with fury.

"Since they realized they wouldn't get anything from him, they killed him"

He froze.

"I'm sorry my children. Freed is dead" he announced solemnly.

Their world crumbled down that exact moment.

Laxus couldn't wait for a train, he needed to go to the guild where Freed was, immediately. He needed to see that this was just a sick prank his grandfather was pulling on him. The man he loved couldn't be dead before he told him about his feelings. And most of all he couldn't be dead just for the sake of protecting him. He felt an immense guild clawing at his heart.

He didn't care if the town where they were was far from Magnolia and if he had to die of magical drain. He took the still shocked Bickslow and Evergreen in his arms and was gone with a flash of lightning.

His strength gradually abandoned him, both because of the magical exertion and the thought that Freed might really be dead. He felt Evergreen cry in his arms and held her tighter. Bickslow stared at nothing in particular, with his eyes wide open, showing desperation.

_"Guys...if this has really happened...you have to be strong...please don't let this change you...I need you both"_

He was dead tired after an hour of travel, he felt sweat on his body and heaved, out of breath. His muscles ached terribly and his eyelids felt heavy.

_"No, Magnolia is still far and I have to reach Freed. I can't give up now"_

He moved even faster through the thunderstorm, fighting the fatigue, the burning in his muscles, the pain in his almost empty magical container and the urge to give in to the fear that Freed was truly dead. No, he had to shake away those thoughts. He had to be strong for Bickslow and Evergreen right now.

_"You can't be dead Freed. Please. I love you"_

After two hours of travel, Laxus landed in front of the guild, he let Bickslow go and made sure he got Evergreen before letting her go as well. He took a tentative step forward but collapsed on his knees. He was exhausted.

_"I'm right here. I can't give up now"_

He saw crimson droplets fall on the ground. His nose was bleeding for the exertion. He didn't care. He stood up wiping away the blood and staggered forward, pushing the doors of the guild open. The sight of his comrades crying made everything more real.

_"No…"_

Was there really no hope that Freed was alive?

His chest tightened and he found it hard to breathe.

His grandfather came closer to him. His eyes were red-rimmed. Porlyusica had followed him. Her presence made Laxus resist the urge to bawl like a child and rip his hair.

"I want to see him" he said in a shaky tone looking at her with a desperate gaze.

"So do we" chimed in Evergreen with a broken voice and Bickslow nodded next to her.

"Follow me" said the woman and they complied.

She brought them to the infirmary of the guild. There was a zone that was hidden by a sheet that served as curtain.

"Your friend is behind this curtain. Are you ready?"

Laxus swallowed. Was he? Definitely not. He didn't think he would ever be ready to see someone he loved dead. Much less the man he was in love with. But he had to. Eventually he knew it would happen. But he thought that Freed would always be the one by his side helping him to cope, not the one he had to see. He slowly nodded.

Once all three friends nodded their assent, Porlyusica drew the makeshift curtain.

Laxus was sure that in that instant he felt his heart shatter. That pain in his chest could only mean that.

He didn't even blink. He just watched in shock.

He took in every single detail that the white, cold light allowed him to see as Porlyusica explained what had happened.

The skin was marred by bruises. It wasn't a simple livor mortis. The skin of the back was coated in purple, but there was more, so much more. Black, purple, greenish, yellowish, swollen blotches covered every inch of the once pale skin. The few spots that weren't smeared with the hideous marks had taken a greyish color. There were burn marks, small ones, as if someone had turned off a cigarette on his skin, and way bigger ones. They had irregular forms, not just roundish, but also elongated and some were even branched. The latter had dug much deeper into the skin. Even if Porlyusica hadn't explained that, Laxus could recognize that shape. He'd caused many of those marks with his lightnings. They had used electricity on him. He clenched his fists in fury.

As if bruises and burnes weren't enough, there were cuts. Everywere. Long ones, short ones, superficial ones, deep ones. So deep that three fingers were missing from his hands. And the one on his throat that had caused his definitive death by suffocation.

Laxus slowly walked closer, with heavy steps. He had to see his face.

It was almost unrecognizable.

But he knew that it was him: there was that unmistakable beauty mark under the left eye, the long eyelashes and that singular shade of green in his hair, now contaminated by dirt and blood. Besides, under that sickening odor of death and rotting flesh, there was his scent.

He tentatively drew a hand closer to Freed's disfigured face and gently caressed it, closely looking at him, trying to recognize the man he loved behind all those bruises. And then, as he took in the features, he noticed his expression. It conveyed pain.

Suddenly Laxus's mind was flooded with images of Freed crying and screaming in pain despite his pride as lightnings burned him, kicks and fists hit his body and broke his bones and blades cut through his flesh digging deep and he suffered and hurt, being forced to endure that torture as sadistic smiles played on his tormentors' lips. Maybe at first he had hoped to be saved, but then as he saw that no one ever arrived he had given up hope.

Then a thought crossed Laxus's mind: _"During all that, he must have looked forward to death. Everything to protect me"_

He felt sick. He strode out of the infirmary, ignoring the calls of his name. He quickly descended the stairs and heard the sobs of his comrades, and it hurt him even more. He ignored his grandfather too and got out of the guild.

The rain was pouring and thunders boomed in the distance. He was getting drenched to the bone, but he didn't care. Suddenly, all the fatigue he'd accumulated before set in again with renewed force, along with his feelings of devastation. He fell on his knees and started pounding his fists on the ground, as tears fell copiously from his eyes and he screamed all of his pain, as if he could get it out of his body and not feel it anymore.

Evergreen and Bickslow rushed out of the guild and ran to him, who was now holding his forehead against the ground with his fists clenched and ready to hit again. They hugged him, each to one side and he hugged them back. They sobbed and wailed desperately, holding on to each other in that moment of need as the rest of the guild silently watched them. Together they were coming to grips with losing one of their own.


End file.
